Awls and Chisels for LM Charge, Wave, Surge

[J-sews]

J-sews,
I picked up a 5/16" bit this week and went to work on it last night, but when I pulled it out of the plastic and measured the thickness, it was just over 1/16" thick, whereas the LM flat bits are a full 1/8" thick.  I checked several of my other larger spade bits and they were all just as thin as the new one.  Was the bit you used just as thick as the flat bits, or were you able to make it work even though the material is thinner?  Just wanted to check before I go tearing up a new bit and then not having anything useful when I'm done.  Thanks!
Tim

Hi Tim, yes the spade bit blade was somewhat thinner than the Leatherman flat bits. (I don't have mine with me here, so I cannot check actual sizes) In any case, the thinner spade bit works fine as long as it fits properly in the bit driver receptacle. You will want to "sneak up" on the final dimensions as you grind the bit down. Check the fit often as you go.

Oh, and make sure to try to match up the "flattened hex" contours of the bit driver receptacle as best you can. (See crappy sketch below of end view) It doesn't have to be perfect. Just bevel the edges slightly until it just barely fits.

[ToolManTim]

OK, thanks a lot.  I'll give it a shot later on this week.  That's a really good point about being a knife tip saver.  When I got my new Wave a couple of years ago, within the first two weeks of owning it, I did something and managed to snap the very tip of the PE blade off.  You don't realize how much you use that tip until you don't have it.  I've since managed to sharpen the blade back such that it has a decent tip again, but I'd rather not keep doing that!  Thanks.

[crocodilo]

If you really wanted a chisel on a Leatherman (I dont really, I havent had the need for a chisel since woodwork class in school) wouldnt it be possible to grind the large screwdrivers tip into a shape like this?
(...)

Good evening. Lurker here.

I did this mod to my Charge's large screwdriver. I had little need for this item, due to having the screwdriver bit, and felt a small chisel would be more usefull. So, I just got a metal file and a knife sharpenner, and did it by hand in a couple of minutes. Turned out quite nice. It is still strong enough to pry with, gets under minimal spaces, and is a hell of a push-cutter for tight spaces and wood carving. An awl would also be nice, but then again, I always carry a Vic Soldier or Farmer...

[ToolManTim]

Well, Bob, here's my first crack at it.  I'm obviously no machinist, and they're certainly not nearly as pretty as yours, but I think they'll be pretty effective anyway.  I might take another shot at the chisel, since it's a little loose in the bit driver, but the awl, which is more important anyway, came out really well.  It's a real nice snug (but not too snug) fit - it's actually more solid in the bit driver than the LM bit that came with the Wave!  Perfect fit.  Thanks again for the idea and for the tips.  If I do take another crack at the chisel, I'll let you know how it comes out.

P.S. The 5/16 was stamped pretty deeply on the bits I bought.  I was afraid if I ground it out, the already thin bit would get too thin.  Did you grind yours out, or have any concern with this?  Thanks.

[J-sews]

Nice job Tim! Looks like they turned out nicely! (Sorry about the slow reply, I'm about 500 miles away from home this week!)

I don't remember exactly how my 5/16 markings turned out. I'll have to check when I get back.

[J-sews]

I see you added the little nicks in the side for the bit adapter detent to engage. Does it seem to click into place correctly for you?

[ToolManTim]

I live in northern Michigan. I was born in northern Michigan, raised in northern Michigan, and spent my whole life in northern Michigan.


I once took a trip all the way to Ohio, to see what the rest of the world was like, but then I came back to northern Michigan 

Sounds like you finally made it a little farther than Ohio .  Hope you're having a good trip. 

The nicks in the side for the detent work pretty good.  One side is closer to being the exact correct location than the other, so it engages better, but they seem to lock in pretty well on the awl.  The ones on the chisel are a little looser since I ground a little too far and it's a little loose overall.  The next one will be better

I also noticed something else interesting.  I have a LM E306X which has a bit driver as well.  The awl bit still has a very slight taper (the shape of the original drill bit), which makes it slightly narrower at the base than at the top where the point starts (i.e., the sides aren't perfectly parallel like the LM bits are).  It's much snugger in the E306X than it is in the Wave.  In fact, I have to give it a pretty good push to get it to bottom out in the knife.  I was surprised to see that the slots in the two bit drivers were different sizes.   

[Poncho65]

An older post but such a wonderful tool idea. I read this when I first joined was a great idea to me then and that made me think about it when I got my new wave.  I think that I might just give that a try myself,  it may be a while but I think i'll try it 

[jzmtl]

I went to buy a spade bit to make it, $6 each! $*@%, everything is still expensive as hell here.

[J-sews]

I went to buy a spade bit to make it, $6 each! $*@%, everything is still expensive as hell here.

Bummer dude.  


(I forgot; where are you at?)

[jzmtl]

Bummer dude.  


(I forgot; where are you at?)

I'm 500 miles west of Def. 

Even thou the canadian dollar almost doubled in value against usd the price basically stayed the same, and when people start to shopping south they now doing bunch of ads ask people to "shop local", riiiight... 

[J-sews]

Bummer dude.  


(I forgot; where are you at?)

I'm 500 miles west of Def. 

Even thou the canadian dollar almost doubled in value against usd the price basically stayed the same, and when people start to shopping south they now doing bunch of ads ask people to "shop local", riiiight... 

With the Canadian dollar so high against the US dollar, and yet your prices haven't changed, somebody in between is pocketing some big money.

[max6166]

With the Canadian dollar so high against the US dollar, and yet your prices haven't changed, somebody in between is pocketing some big money.

You got that right. Even with regular news coverage for months, retailers didn't budge on prices. There's not enough competition in many areas, so the quasi-monopolies can do what they want. We have no real alternatives in many cases...

[Poncho65]

With the Canadian dollar so high against the US dollar, and yet your prices haven't changed, somebody in between is pocketing some big money.

You got that right. Even with regular news coverage for months, retailers didn't budge on prices. There's not enough competition in many areas, so the quasi-monopolies can do what they want. We have no real alternatives in many cases...

Sorry to hear you ppl having it hard about exchange rate Canadian vs. US dollar if the rate is better then prices should drop but when ppl know they can get a certain price 4 something they usually don't want to drop the price

[David]

Bob, finally got a 5/16 wood bit bought and intend to make an awl. Will let you know how it turns out whenever I get it done. I meant to do this some time ago. But forgot about it till the other day.   

[tattoosteve99]

This old thread shows me I need to read more here

[David]

That didn`t take very long. Here are some in process pics.   

[David]

Filing the lock notch and awl in bit card.

[David]

Awl in the TTi.

[Rahmed]

LM Surge chisel & LM Charge awl from Vic

[tattoosteve99]

LM Surge chisel & LM Charge awl from Vic

(Image removed from quote.)

(Image removed from quote.)

Ok tell me how you did the Vic awl in the multi pleeeeaaassssseeeee?

[J-sews]

Hi Dave, good on you for finally getting it done! Pretty easy wasn't it? Have you tested it out on anything yet?



Nice looking work there Rahmed Seems like a lot of different tools could be made to work in the Leatherman bit receptacle

[David]

Hi Dave, good on you for finally getting it done! Pretty easy wasn't it? Have you tested it out on anything yet?

Bob it was much easier than I thought it would be. It seems the only tempering in that bit was only on the very end. So it was easy to file the bit into shape. No havent tried it out on any thing yet. This bit was pretty thin so it fit loose in the bit card. I used a little duct tape to take up the slack. Fits nice and tight now.   

[J-sews]

Hi Dave, good on you for finally getting it done! Pretty easy wasn't it? Have you tested it out on anything yet?

Bob it was much easier than I thought it would be. It seems the only tempering in that bit was only on the very end. So it was easy to file the bit into shape. No havent tried it out on any thing yet. This bit was pretty thin so it fit loose in the bit card. I used a little duct tape to take up the slack. Fits nice and tight now.   

Cool! And it will definitely save the tip of your knife blade someday

[bushidomosquito]

I ground my Wave flat blade driver into a chisel when I was working rental unit maintenance. It was the thing for moving the strike plate around and adjusting how doors latched shut. Anybody I worked with only had to see that once before they had they own Wave and were asking me to grind it.

[antouant]

Does anyone know, is SOG awl fits somehow in LM Wave?

http://www.sogknives.com/tactical/accessories/awl.html

[bmot]

I know, necro thread and stuff, but I just wanted to say my browser gives a malware-warning for page two of this thread... Just so you know I've not checked it out further.

[enki_ck]

Thanks for the heads up. I get the same warning on page 3, not 2. I've reported ti so hopefully Whoey can sort this out soon.

[enki_ck]

It was just a picture of Dr. Evil.     All fixed now.

[mtngoat]

Now I have to het a 5/16 paddle bit now and try it.

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